Pedal.



O. HIGEL.

PEDAL.

l APPLICAUON FILED IULY29. |914. 1,138,563. Patented May 4, 1915;

THE NORRIS PETERS C0.. PHDTO-LITHO.. WASHlNGmN. D. C,

OTTO HIGEL, 0F TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

PEDAL. f. u v

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1915.

Application filed July 2 9, 1914. Serial No. 853,916.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, OTTO HIGEL, a subject of the King of Great Britain,residing at Toronto, Canada, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Pedals, of which the following is a specification. "Thepresentinvention relates to musical instruments and pertains moreparticularly to improvements in pedals such as are used on pianos,piano-players, organs and the like. Y The object of the invention is toprovide an improved means for mounting and attaching the pedals whichwill be strong, simple in construction, capableof being convenientlyapplied to the instrument upon which it is used, and cheap in the costof production.

A further object consists in providing a small depending plate or guardadapted to be formed in the structure of the pedal sleeve, forcompletely closing the aperture in the front of the piano case below thepedal, without interfering with the usual manipulation of the latter,the purpose of this plate being to prevent mice and other vermin fromgaining access through the opening when the pedal is in its normalelevated position.

Vith these and other objects in view the invention consists in thedetails of construe tion and in the arrangement and combination of partsmore fully set forth in the following specification, illustrated in theaccompanying drawing and pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a transverse sectional View taken on aboutthe line 1-1 of Fig. 2, with parts shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a planview showing one embodiment of the invention as applied to a piano. Fig.8 is a bottom plan view of the pedal detached, and Fig. 4 is a detailperspective view of the mouse guard plate before the parts are assembledas in the other views.

Referring to the drawings B represents the base board of the instrumenton level with the floor F-F. The lower pedal rail R is provided with theopening O in which the pedal is adapted to move u p and down. Cushionsof felt or other suitable material f are arranged along the upper andlower edges of this opening to form noiseless bearing surfaces againstwhich the pedal shaft contacts at the limit of its up and downmovements.

The main hollow pedal plate is `formed of Aa single piece of metal andcomprises the tread portion 1, the upper front extension 2k and tworearwardly extending ears 3, 3, presenting vertically disposed arms atright angles to the rear edge of the extension piece 2. The pedal isprovided with a hollow metal sleeve 4 extending rearwardly in ahorizontal plane and adapted to be detachably fastened to the end of arod or shaft 5, mounted in the bearings (not shown) the other end ofthis shaft having operative connection with rods (not shown) to operatethe dampers'or hammers. The sleeve 4 is made up of a single metal pieceand is in the form of a split tubular member. The forward part of thissleeve which is attached to the pedal is bent into a substantiallyinverted U-shaped portion having a flat upper surface 4a and twodepending perforated arms 4b which fit between the ears 3, 3 of thepedal, and are held in place by rivets 7 passing therethrough. Theremaining portion of the sleeve is circular in cross-section and nearits rear end is provided with two opposing perforated lobe pieces 8 8,spaced apart and having an adjustable threaded bolt 9, carrying a nut 10thereon passing through them. The mouse guard plate 11, as shownvin Fig.4, is formed of one piece of metal bent in the form of an elongated loopwith a depending plate 12.

In assembling the parts the guard plate 11 is positioned between thedepending arms 4b of the sleeve 4 and carries small cylindrical bushings13 at the inner opposite ends of the loop. The rivets 7 above referredto are then passed through the assembled parts and extend from the outerside of one or' the ears 3 through the perforationsl in the arms 4b,through the center bores of the bushings 13 and through the outersurface of the ear 3 on the opposite side thus forming a compact andrigid structure in which the parts are securely held in their propel'positions and are concealed from view.

It will be understood that the shaft 5 to which the pedal sleeve isrigidly attached by means of the adjustable clamping lobes 8, ispivotally mounted in the bearing (not shown), to permit the up and downmove` ment of the pedal in the opening O of the front rail R.

By referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that when the pedal is in itsnormal elevated position the opening O is completely closed,

partly by the main front plate of the pedal and partly by the dependingguard piece 12. The guard 12 is so arranged that it will sufficientlyclear the lower edge of the base board B as the pedal swings downwardly.

Having described my invention what I claim is 1- A pedal for uprightpianos, comprising 4in combination a main tread portion havingrearwardly extending ears, a hollow sleeve member, and a depending guardplate, one end of said sleeve and a portion of said guard plate beingnested one within the other and rigidly secured between said rearwardlyextending ears, the opposite end of' 15 said hollow sleeve being formedwith opposite perforated lobe portions separated apart and an adjustablecoupling nieinber passing therethrough whereby said sleeve is adapted tobe clamped on the main transmitting rod7 substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OTTO HIGEL.

Witnesses:

RALPH O. I-IIGEL, I). S. TOVELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

